Review: Morpheus (Music City)

By Colin Stoner 5/29/01

Ease of Use:

This is a very simple program to use, and I guarantee that any level
computer user can figure out this program. One reason that it is so simple
to use is that it integrates Microsoft programs (Windows Media Player
and Internet Explorer mainly) to give it a familiar feel to all users.
There are five main areas of the program that you can navigate: Start
(MusicCity.com homepage), My Media (files you are sharing over Morpheus),
Theater (watch movies that you are sharing), Search (search the Morpheus
Network for files) and Traffic (monitor current uploads and downloads
on your computer). All sections are easily found at the top of the program
and are accessible at any time when Morpheus is running.

Morpheus has a very organized layout. It splits the window into three different
frames (top, left and right), which allows for quick and easy navigation. However,
the design lacks any real eye candy (however I am a fan of the logo). I assume
that the bland design can be attributed to the MusicCity boasting that Morpheus
will use a maximum of 10% of your system resources. Keeping the flashy colors
and window fly-bys to a minimum will help the program (and your computer) run
smoother.

Speed of Download:

This is where Morpheus leaves it’s mark on the Peer-to-Peer file sharing world.
When you search for a file, Morpheus replies with all the users that have the
file you requested. Nothing special yet, it happens when you download. After
you select the file to download, Morpheus’ uses Fast Stream™ technology to piece
together the same file from multiple users. This doesn’t mean that your 56k
modem can now download at unthinkable speeds, instead it helps keep the upload
bandwidth down and keeps the download speed the same. It’s almost as if MusicCity
watched a full season of Barney, and came out saying that “Caring Means Sharing...bandwidth!”
All users benefit from this system, even the people with @Home cable (remember,
you have a 12k bandwidth cap) or a xDSL line.

Overall:

Hands down the best search program I have ever used. This thing dwarfs any
Gnutella client program; makes Imesh look silly and even takes a wonderfully
relieving steamer on Napster. It is easy to use, easy to find the file you’re
looking for and isn’t limited to just MP3s. You can download video, images,
documents and software and they are as easy to find as MP3s. The only problem
with the program (and it’s not MusicCity or Morpheus’ fault) is that there are
not a lot of users on it yet. For example, it’s 3 am in Seattle right now and
a search for Radiohead turns up nothing but one version of Creep (Acoustic).
People, you need to download this ASAP and get it loaded instead of Napster
or any other file-swapping client while it’s still able to duck the RIAA’s radar.
This program should not go unnoticed and unused.